1973 S. Penny

[Guest]

I have obtained 1973-S pennies with placement of the "S" mint mark in two distinctly different locations. One has the "S" very close to the 9 and 7 of the date. The other is much further below the date. I have questioned coin dealers in my area of Michigan, and none have seen such differences before, among 1973-S pennies before. Additionally, they are unaware of such differences identified in any publications regarding the 1973-S pennies. I have attached a picture of the two penny varieties for your review.

My question: is this a known variety of the 1973-S penny? If it is, why is it not general knowledge and is there an added value to one or the other variety? If it is not, what is the next step I need to take to authenticate the variety?

I would appreciate any help you can provide in helping me on the 1973-S pennies. Thank you.

[jallengomez]

I would run away from those coin dealers if they honestly don't know the answer to that question. Before 1990, mint marks were placed by hand, and there was quite a bit of latitude and tolerance. It's not uncommon to see mint marks all over the place as long as they are under the date. Often you can even find them touching a digit in the date. Because they were hand punched into the dies, this is also why we see RPMs and OMMs on coins minted prior to 1990.

[ericodapro]

Mint mark location varies on almost all Lincoln cents before 1990 I believe? I think its common and wouldnt demand any premium.

[jcuve]

As stated, mintmarks were added by hand and are anywhere below the date. Just pick up a few more examples from ebay and see what you get. They will most likely all be in a different position.

[SDP73]

I'm not seeing any pictures. Are they there and I am just not seeing them?

[simonm]

I'm not seeing any pictures. Are they there and I am just not seeing them?

There are no pictures posted.

First off, Welcome to the forum, Benjamin.
As the other guys have said, the mintmark was hand punched onto the working dies until 1990, so variation in the placement is to be expected, and is not an actual variety.

[jcuve]

Sorry, Welcome to the LCR FORUMS!

[willbrooks]

It is shocking that a person that makes their living selling coins could not answer your question. If you look at 10 different 1973S cents, the odds are that all ten of them will be from a different die pairing and therefore have a different mint mark placement. Welcome to the LCR. Lots of wonderful information available here.

[Peter]

Welcome to the Forum! Try using the search function in the menu items above if you are looking for information on a particular coin or in getting help on identifying a die variety.